Random ramblings cuz I have nothing better to do... or something... :)
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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The great two shop debate...

So this will mostly only be of interest to other Etsy sellers, but I'm posting it nonetheless. I'd love to hear some opinions and ideas on this topic, as it's at the forefront of my mind right now.

I'm seriously thinking about opening a second shop.

Now I know there are plenty of you who read this who have two or more shops, and I've often heard "don't do it! It's a pain in the [choose your favorite word for the backside]!" And I agree that it probably will be a royal pain. But, at the same time, I'm seeing some advantages.

1) I have a LOT of stuff in my shop. Seriously. I don't think it's been under 200 items since maybe last Christmas? Maybe even longer than that. I make stuff, and I keep making stuff even when stuff isn't selling. And the sad thing is that I always have more supplies to make MORE stuff. :) Splitting into two shops will make two much more reasonable sized shops... or give me an excuse to make a lot more stuff for each. :)

2) If you look at my shop, there's a minimal dividing line already--crocheted stuff, and other stuff. There is a little bit of a connecting theme to the "other stuff," but it's not really so obvious at the moment. If I split into two shops, I'll be able to focus each shop on the theme of that shop.

3) Sections. I'm always struggling to fit everything into the 10 sections we get per shop. If I have 2 shops, I can have 20 sections, and thus spread everything out a bit better. Because honestly, "non-wearable crochet" is a rather broad section. :)

4) I love the name ScaryWhiteGirl, and I always will. But I've already got a name picked out for my second shop, it's not taken yet, and I've even got a clever tagline for the shop as well. Basically, in my mind, I've already branded the heck out of this second shop that doesn't even exist yet. :) It will be rather cohesive in terms of the theme, and the theme works with the shop name / tagline.

Okay, so that's my pros. Give me the cons, folks. I need to hear them again, and see if they outweigh the pros.

(You're also welcome to give me more pros. :) I'm sure that running two shops can't be all bad, otherwise no one would do it!)

4 comments:

Lots of Pro's from me!My only Con would be that I tend to give the most attention to the shop that is selling the most at the moment. I need to learn to "share the love". I think I'll try to do that by having equal opportunity photo sessions. Maybe if I set it all out before I start shooting I won't forget any of my shops.Good luck!

Sounds like going to 2 shops would be a super good move for you! Especially since you alredy know your name, tagline and merchandise split.Another pro- if someone comes to one shop, likes stuff then chances are good they'll click over to check out your other shop. Hooray for cross sales!